Zhong Shenxiu had just finished dancing with a lady and returned to the buffet table to pick up a glass of red wine.
The array of food at the dance was quite lavish, featuring cheese-baked lobster, honey roasted lamb chops, roasted beef tenderloin, fried chicken chunks... For dessert, there were various ice creams, as well as a "white soup" mixed with milk, diced meat, almonds, mushrooms, and alcohol, capable of quickly replenishing the strength of the gentlemen and ladies.
"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Li Wei."
Kerry was also on the guest list, having rented a luxurious suit for the occasion, which made him look refined and attracted the attention of many ladies.
A multitude of women covertly signaled him with their fans, among which were interspersed many flirtatious invitations.
Unfortunately, the young lad was quite unfamiliar with the real high society’s subtle come-ons, essentially casting flirtatious glances at a blind man.
"As long as you’re enjoying yourself."
Zhong Shenxiu replied indifferently, while another perspective already witnessed Zhu Qingliu launching an attack, sucking Mr. Bonk’s carriage into an oil painting.
"Why haven’t I seen Johan?"
Kerry was a bit puzzled.
"I gave him a day off to enjoy the New Year’s fireworks show..."
A smile tinged the corners of Zhong Shenxiu’s mouth.
In the midst of a snowy landscape, Johan sneezed involuntarily, his gaze still fixed on the direction where the carriage had disappeared.
He had a premonition; his god had sent him here precisely to await this moment!
’How strange... A carriage disappears and it doesn’t cause any commotion or stir... Why am I the only one not affected, is it the protection of my lord?’
Johan may have acquired first-sequence knowledge, but mastering the breathing techniques would take time.
And concocting secret medicines needed substantial funds to gather materials; he was still an ordinary person, without the slightest thought of meddling.
His plan was to keep things steady and safe, being nothing more than an onlooker throughout the proceedings.
Suddenly, he thought he saw a massive shadow covering the sky appear above.
It was a powerful creature with wings, emanating the aura of a sovereign, painful to the eyes even by seeing only its silhouette.
Johan felt something odd; why was there no reaction from the people around to such a terrifying presence?
Could it be that only his eyes could see the ’truth’?
The next moment, he seemed to glimpse a gigantic claw sweeping through the void.
At the place where the carriage had disappeared, a corner was peeled back, revealing a patch of golden wheat field.
He wanted to look again, but the terrifying pressure almost caused Johan’s eyes to bleed.
He could only bow his head in humility.
In reality, had it not been for the approaching Dragon Knight Joseph intentionally commanding his mount to suppress its dragon might, Johan’s suffering would have been more than just severe eye pain.
"Despicable attackers, don’t let me catch you!"
He effortlessly destroyed Sanson’s painting, saw the carriage cut in half, Anthony beheaded with a single sword strike, and Bonk strangling himself, unleashing a roar of rage.
Beneath him, the enormous dragon also let out a terrifying bellow.
In a corner of Sanson’s painting, a figure controlling a sword mid-flight trembled violently, almost unable to withstand the pressure and falling to the ground.
"I’ve found you, little bug."
A ferocious smile appeared on Joseph’s face, ready to chase after his quarry with comrades.
Just then, he suddenly heard a dog bark.
The Spirit Realm burst open, and a massive demon hound leapt out from inside, its body ablaze with pitch-black flames, and its eyes as large as buckets.
At that moment, it let out a fierce howl and opened its gaping maw to bite onto the hind leg of the dragon.
The dragon screamed in torment, preparing to use its thick tail to swat the enemy away.
But the hunting hound suddenly leapt back into the Spirit Realm, vanishing from sight. In a flash, it reappeared on the other side of the dragon, its jaws open and nurturing flames.
One by one, huge balls of pitch-black flame landed on the dragon, exploding continuously as if it were being blasted by cannons.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhu Qingliu had already fled Sanson’s painting, ducking into a side alley and swiftly burning a few talismans.
Instantly, she changed her outfit, dressed like a lady attending a celebration, and stealthily departed from the area in another direction.
"Dead dog... don’t run..."
Johan thought he heard a voice filled with frantic frustration.
Immediately, Sanson’s painting completely shattered, bursting into flames.
On the street, a carriage materialized, and with it, the bodies of Mr. Bonk and Anthony, immediately eliciting screams from the onlookers.
The scene instantly descended into chaos.
The black hound had already dived back into the Spirit Realm and was nowhere to be seen.
From the direction of the Main Church of the Gate in the Queen’s District, there seemed to be a radiant light speeding towards the scene.
Johan couldn’t make sense of any of these events and could only see in the sky what appeared to be several blackish-red scales, alive and falling like creatures, seemingly from that very dragon.
In a daze, he felt the majesty of Lord Shenxiu wash over him once again.
An intangible breeze swept across the entire area.
Almost as the breeze dissipated, that beam of light, with a shocking current of air, arrived at the scene, revealing an elderly man in splendid formal wear.
Archbishop of the Door Master Church, ’The Near-God’, Klado Tisamo!
"Your Grace, Archbishop, Mr. Bonk was assassinated... I was intercepted by a powerful Spirit Realm Creature..."
Joseph approached the Archbishop, pounding his chest in a gesture of shame.
Klado Tisamo watched below with a slightly vacant gaze, his eyes flickering with innumerable mystical symbols.
After a long while, he sighed, "The kingdom’s defense mechanisms are flawed; a high-ranking entity has infiltrated the Royal Capital... or these assassins have received aid from some hidden existence..."
Johan stumbled away with the fleeing crowd, leaving the Shuchak Center in a disoriented state.
Before his eyes, he once again visualized the beheaded corpse and himself choking Mr. Bonk to death.
’The mysterious world is so dangerous...’
Johan once again felt the disheartening experience of disillusionment.
At the villa’s entrance.
Zhong Shenxiu saw off the last guest and wandered alone in the garden.
He noticed that Mermond had returned inside the kennel, transformed back into a hunting hound, lazily lying on the ground, disdainfully ignoring the dog food brought by the maids.
’This guy still needs disciplining, how can he be a picky eater?’
Zhong Shenxiu pursed his lips privately and returned to the study.
He already knew that this assassination mission had ended quite smoothly and could imagine the kingdom’s fury in the coming days.
’But isn’t the true essence of war mutual harm?’
Zhong Shenxiu looked up with a premonition, seeing brilliant fireworks bursting against the pitch-black canopy of the sky.
The New Year celebration fireworks had begun.
The old calendar had come to an end, and now, it was the dawn of a new era—the first year since the dispersal of Black Fog!
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